Now Commenting On:

Royals trio lauded for '11 excellence

Royals trio lauded for '11 excellence

9/20/11: Alex Gordon pummels a home run over the center-field wall to lead off the bottom of the first inning for the Royals

By Dick Kaegel
/
MLB.com |

KANSAS CITY -- Take a Nebraskan, a Panamanian and a Dominican and what have you got?

You've got, in order, Alex Gordon, Bruce Chen, Melky Cabrera and the winners of the first annual MLB.com awards for the Kansas City Royals.

As selected by MLB.com, awards have been designated in three categories -- Pitcher, Perfomer and Breakout Player -- for each of the 30 teams.

Gordon was named Player of the Year, Chen was Pitcher of the Year and Cabrera, who was dealt to the Giants for pitcher Jonathan Sanchez and a Minor Leaguer on Nov. 7, was Breakout Player of the Year.

A product of Lincoln, Neb., Gordon finally fulfilled the high expectations put on him when he was the Royals' first-round Draft choice out the University of Nebraska in 2005.

When this season was over, he not only had established himself as an outstanding left fielder and team leader but he registered career highs in many categories, including average (.303), hits (185), runs (101), doubles (45), homers (23), and RBIs (87). He also had 17 stolen bases.

No matter where he batted -- first, third or occasionally fourth -- he was a consistent force in a vigorous offense on a team that scored 54 more runs than in 2010. And he leaped into prominence after two subpar seasons marked by hip surgery (2009) and a demotion to Triple-A Omaha (2010).

"I just came into this season motivated -- not that I haven't before -- but with the last two years, injuries and being sent down and stuff like that, I think that drove me in the offseason to work even harder and that's what I did," Gordon said. "Throughout the year, I took every day playing 100 percent on the practice field and in every game and it paid off a little bit."

Chen, whose grandparents moved from China to Panama City where he was born, led the Royals' pitching staff in victories with 12 for the second straight season.

Despite missing six weeks with a lat injury, he posted a 12-8 record and 3.77 ERA in 25 starts. The Royals are Chen's 10th Major League team and, in addition to victories, he gave them leadership for their young pitchers and provided a light-hearted spirit in the clubhouse and on the bench. On the mound, Chen falls into that crafty lefty category -- he doesn't throw that hard, maybe 88 mph tops, but he throws four pitches from a lot of different angles.

Chen, after 10 years in the Majors, slipped from view for a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow. But the Royals took a chance and signed him to a Minor League contract in March 2009. He reached the Majors that year and didn't have much success. But in 2010, he worked his way out of the bullpen and into the rotation, ultimately delivering more wins than staff ace Zack Greinke.

"2010 was a good year and I tried to build on that," Chen said. "This year, I couldn't have done by myself. I had the support of my teammates who played really good defense behind us and the offense was great."

Even with the long stay on the disabled list, Chen used a strong finish to again top the staff in victories.

There was a good deal of skepticism when the Royals signed Cabrera at the last Winter Meetings. The Melk-man was coming off a lackluster season for the Atlanta Braves after being traded by the New York Yankees.

However, Cabrera took a big salary cut to sign and the switch-hitter from Bajos De Haina in the Dominican Republic worked strenuously to get back into shape, losing weight and adding muscle. When he hit the field for the Royals this season, scouts marveled that he looked like a different player.

That showed not only in his physique but in a huge upswing in his statistics. Talk about a breakout, bounce-back year: Cabrera accumulated 201 hits -- the first Royals player to reach 200 since 2000 -- and had a career-best .305 average. He settled in as the Royals' two-hole batter and piled up 44 doubles, 18 homers, 87 RBIs, 102 runs and 20 stolen bases -- all career highs.

He also excelled in center field, getting 13 assists to contribute to the Major League-leading 51 posted by the Royals' outfielders.

Gordon had 20 of those assists and that, plus his dazzling play all over left field, earned the converted third baseman a spot on the American League Rawlings Gold Glove team. It was the 19th Gold Glove Award in Royals history.

In team awards announced by the Royals, Gordon was the Les Milgram Player of the Year, Chen was the Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year and first baseman Eric Hosmer won the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award.

Also a contender for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, Hosmer finished third in the BBWAA voting. He fit right into the Majors with 19 homers, 27 doubles, 78 RBIs and a .293 average in 128 games. He also flashed a gifted glove at first base, tightening the Royals' defense.

National Awards

MVP

Cy Young

Rookie of the Year

George Brett

1980

Bret Saberhagen

1985

Lou Piniella

1969

Bret Saberhagen

1989

Bob Hamelin

1994

David Cone

1994

Carlos Beltran

1999

Angel Berroa

2003

Manager of the Year

Rawlings Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

Tony Pena

2003

Amos Otis, OF

1971

Willie Wilson, OF

1980

Amos Otis, OF

1973

George Brett, 3B

1980

Amos Otis, OF

1974

Hal McRae, DH

1982

Frank White, 2B

1977

Willie Wilson, OF

1982

Al Cowens, OF

1977

George Brett, 3B

1985

Frank White, 2B

1978

Frank White

1986

Frank White, 2B

1979

George Brett, 1B

1988

Frank White, 2B

1980

Gary Gaetti, 3B

1995

Willie Wilson, OF

1980

Dean Palmer, 3B

1998

This Year in Baseball

Frank White, 2B

1981

Zack Greinke (Starting Pitcher)

2009

Frank White, 2B

1982

George Brett, 3B

1985

Frank White, 2B

1986

Frank White, 2B

1987

Bret Saberhagen, P

1989

Bob Boone, C

1989

Jermaine Dye, OF

2000

Mark Grudzielanek, 2B

2006

Alex Gordon, OF

2011

Local Awards

Player of the Year

Pitcher of the Year

Amos Otis, Fred Patek

1971

Dick Drago

1971

John Mayberry

1972

Roger Nelson

1972

Amos Otis

1973

Paul Splittorff

1973

Hal McRae

1974

Steve Busby

1974

George Brett

1975

Dennis Leonard

1975

George Brett

1976

Mark Littell

1976

Al Cowens

1977

Dennis Leonard

1977

Amos Otis

1978

Larry Gura

1978

George Brett

1979

Dennis Leonard

1979

George Brett

1980

Dan Quisenberry

1980

Willie Wilson

1981

Larry Gura

1981

Hal McRae

1982

Dan Quisenberry

1982

Frank White

1983

Dan Quisenberry

1983

Willie Wilson

1984

Dan Quisenberry

1984

George Brett

1985

Bret Saberhagen

1985

Frank White

1986

Mark Gubicza

1986

Danny Tartabull

1987

Bret Saberhagen

1987

George Brett

1988

Mark Gubicza

1988

Jim Eisenreich

1989

Bret Saberhagen

1989

George Brett

1990

Steve Farr

1990

Danny Tartabull

1991

Bret Saberhagen

1991

George Brett

1992

Kevin Appier

1992

Greg Gagne

1993

Kevin Appier

1993

Bob Hamelin

1994

David Cone

1994

Gary Gaetti

1995

Kevin Appier

1995

Tom Goodwin

1996

Tim Belcher

1996

Jay Bell

1997

Tim Belcher

1997

Dean Palmer

1998

Jeff Montgomery

1998

Jermaine Dye

1999

Jose Rosado

1999

Mike Sweeney

2000

Jeff Suppan

2000

Carlos Beltran

2001

Jeff Suppan

2001

Mike Sweeney

2002

Paul Byrd

2002

Carlos Beltran

2003

Darrell May

2003

David DeJesus

2004

Zack Greinke

2004

Mike Sweeney

2005

Mike MacDougal

2005

Mark Teahen

2006

Mark Redman

2006

Mark Grudzielanek

2007

Gil Meche

2007

Mike Aviles

2008

Joakim Soria

2008

Billy Butler

2009

Zack Greinke

2009

Billy Butler

2010

Joakim Soria

2010

Alex Gordon

2011

Bruce Chen

2011

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.